Topline
Music from Channel Orange, the 2012 debut album from R&B singer Frank Ocean, has shot up the Billboard and Spotify charts as the song “Lost” trended on TikTok—the latest example of the social media platform fueling a resurgence of older music.
Key Facts
On the most recent Billboard 200 Chart, which tracks the success of albums, Channel Orange ranked 65th, the highest it ranked on the chart since 2016, and up from spot 146, where it ranked last week.
“Lost” was the 22nd most-popular song on Spotify in the U.S. during the week ending January 20, after entering the chart the week before at number 180, the first time the song had ever made the chart since its release 10 years ago.
On Wednesday, “Lost” was the 10th most-popular song on the streaming service in the U.S.—garnering over 657,000 streams— the highest it’s ever ranked.
Big Number
176,300. That’s how many TikTok videos have been made to the song, mostly showing users doing the same short dance to the song.
Key Background
This isn’t the first time TikTok has made an old song popular. Last year, Dua Lipa’s 2020 song “Levitating” shot up to number four on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest it had placed since being released, after the song trended on the video-sharing app. In 2020, Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 hit “Dreams” earned 2.9 million U.S. streams after TikToker @420doggface208 posted a video of himself skateboarding and drinking cranberry juice set to the song, a clip that went viral. Jack Johnson and Ally and AJ have also had older tracks resurfaced thanks to the app.
Tangent
Artists can earn royalties from their distributors from plays of their music on TikTok, though the amount varies from each company. And 67% of TikTok users said they are likely to seek out a song they heard on the app on a music streaming service, according to a 2021 survey from MRC Data.
Further Reading
How TikTok Keeps Dua Lipa ‘Levitating’ At The Top Of The Charts (Forbes)
Here’s a Timeline of the Viral ‘Dreams’ TikTok, From Cranberry Juice Gifts to Stevie Nicks’ Recreation (Billboard)
The Biggest Old Music Hits Resurfaced by TikTok (Rolling Stone)
